Megalodon Shark Tooth with Warm Taupe Enamel - 5.2 Inches

Neogene, Miocene to Pliocene. A fossil tooth of Otodus megalodon, the largest predatory shark known. It has the classic broad triangle of the species, a blade built for slicing through whale blubber and bone. The enamel has turned a warm taupe during fossilization, with fine streaks of ochre and umber running down toward the tip. Above it sits a smoky gray chevron, the bourlette, where the crown meets the root. The heavy root spreads out in two rounded lobes and is weathered to a dark slate gray. Its pitted texture contrasts with the smooth, satiny blade. The tooth is held upright on a custom black stand, so both the outline and the color change from enamel to root are easy to see. Megalodon lived in warm seas around the world from about 23 to 3.6 million years ago. Scientists estimate it reached lengths of 15 meters or more. A shark's skeleton is made of cartilage, which rarely fossilizes, so teeth are nearly all that remains of the animal. Researchers estimate its body size from teeth like this one. A shark sheds and replaces its teeth constantly throughout its life, which is why so many are found. The color of a fossil tooth comes from minerals in the sediment that slowly replaced the original material, so the tone of each tooth reflects where it lay buried. Item # 204961

Estimate:$350

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